TYOII: The Sixth Year
by Crystyna
Summary: The Young Order is back and ready to face their 6th year. Innocense is fading while break ups, makes ups, and flirtation abound. Beneath it all, the threat of Lord Voldemort trickles its way into Hogwarts. What are Lily, the Marauders, and our OC's to do?
1. The 88th Floor

Disclaimer: I, to my own chagrin, do not own the Harry Potter universe or any of the characters affiliated with it.

A/N: It's that time again. I got _Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince_ delivered to me the day it came out, and read it in that day. It was extremely sad…and is now my second-favorite in the series (I don't think _any_ HP book will be able to beat PoA) and it made me come back to my lovely little slice of the HP fandom: The Young Order. Laura, I think, has been waiting for me to write some more Laurel/Remus semi-smut fluff, so here it begins, Luna. Enjoy! And review!

-Also…I think I might get around to editing the first TYO, because there are a _lot_ of mistakes that are beginning to bug me about my writing.

-School starts in a day so updating may be slow. Junior year, three AP classes, fencing team, editor of the poetry club. I'm an idiot and decided that there are 36 hours in a day instead of 24. I'll try my hardest to write on weekends, though.

* * *

The first few weeks of summer vacation passed extraordinarily slowly for Treasure, for a number of reasons. The first was, quite simply, that she was in America and all her friends were in England. Certainly not because she was missing Sirius quite terribly - Treasure liked to think that she was more sensible than that. After all, it wasn't as if she was in love with the boy. And it was quite clear that he wasn't in love with her, either, Treasure thought grumpily to herself, waving her wand so that her door slammed closed and cutting off Celestina Warbeck's incessant warbling about love. Treasure's mother had an unfortunate soft spot for the up-and-coming songstress, and it wasn't helping to improve her daughter's mood much at all. 

It was two and a half weeks into the break, and _he _hadn't even _attempted _to contact her! Not one visit by Floo powder, which in the last few days of their fifth year at Hogwarts, she had hinted about. She had said how her parents' apartment in Manhattan had a mechanical fireplace, but that she was sure it could be connected to the Floo network.

Evidently, Sirius had not taken the hint. This did not excuse him, however, from not even sending her an owl. Treasure would admit to herself that this irritated her - she would never admit that she was more than a little stung. Lily knew anyway; somehow, she always did. Lily seemed to find Treasure's sate of rigidly composed distress rather amusing, although she tried - and failed - not to let on. She, as opposed to her best friend, did not seem to mind not having contact with Sirius _or_ James, perhaps especially James Potter, infuriating boy that he was. Of course especially James. She did feel a bit bad for Treasure though. Lily would never tell her best friend, but perhaps this is what Treasure deserved for doing less talking with Sirius; instead, Tres seemed to enjoy using her lips for other activities, Lily thought wryly, and it wasn't as if Sirius was ever in a rush to disagree and direct the "conversation_"_ to something sensible, like the notable attributes of bubotuber pus. All right, perhaps that was asking a bit much, Lily thought, but they could have at least taken some time to actually speak to one another. Honestly.

Lily, quite unlike a certain Sirius Black, _did_ manage to find time to stay in contact with Treasure, for which the dark haired witch was grateful beyond telling. They used the lockets that Treasure had made nearly a year before, and given to Lily for her fifteenth birthday. Lily had insisted that the ridiculous password for the locket be changed, and so before the end of the year she had altered it herself, unbeknownst to Treasure. The password was now "Mrs. Treasure Black," which annoyed its owner to no avail, especially considering the feelings she was harboring towards a certain Mr. Black at the moment.

Treasure decided to ignore Lily's blatant immaturity, however. She decided instead to focus on her studies. In a day's time she would be headed off to Salem, Massachusetts, to take a two week course in the history and development of American Magic. There were other magic schools nearby, of course, but the Salem Institute of the Magical Arts was where Louis and Dana Belle had received their education, and as alumni they wanted their daughter to experience it as well, if only for two weeks each summer. It was part of a promise Treasure had made to her parents: that while she would attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Britain - the world's more renowned center for turning out famous and successful witches and wizards, if not the _most _famous - she would also attend classes in America. Treasure didn't mind at all, really, as the good ol' U.S. of A. had no such restrictions prohibiting underage magic, so long as a magically capable adult over the age of twenty-one was present at all times. Lily was, needless to say, vibrantly green with envy.

So far, Treasure had spent her days moping about the apartment. It wasn't a particularly large apartment, at least, it wasn't meant to be. It was on the 88th floor of the building and had a balcony from Treasure's room. The balcony wasn't grand. It was made of concrete and alarmingly fragile railing that shook suspiciously like aluminum foil on windy days. Louis and Dana Belle had bewitched the apartment to make it more spacious nevertheless. Originally, it was meant to be just a two bedroom, single bathroom apartment complete with a kitchen and dining and living room area. Muggle yuppies had been tricked into paying unfortunate sums of money for places like this to live in, after all it was the city. Dana Belle was an interior decorator and knew quite well how to redesign with magic and had managed to enchant the space so that it was worth the small fortune of Muggle money that they were paying for it.

Treasure had a large queen sized bed that stood parallel to the balcony and was surrounded by a large window on each side. The bed came complete with green and white gauzy canopies, much like the beds in the girl's dormitory at Hogwarts did. By the windows and balconies were drapes of a turquoise blue. In the corner of her room Treasure had a marble vase of birds of paradise plants that were enchanted to actually sing; the songs were eerily familiar to a phoenix song and related to Treasure's mood accordingly. Right now, they sounded agitated, which was strange because she'd never heard a phoenix to be agitated.

The room was furnished with a large dark wood dresser and bureau, which stood on opposite sides of the room. There was also a closet in which Treasure kept all her school things - her trunk, and the books that she'd collected over the years, along with her school uniform, neatly pressed, folded, or hung up depending on which articles of clothing there were. The best part about her room, though, was the light fixture in the middle of the ceiling. Dana Belle, a reputed interior designer among the wizarding community, had traveled to Hawaii to decorate the inside of a tropical mermaid's wedding cave. In return she had been given a small fortune in crystals and pearls, which now made quite a lovely chandelier.

Treasure wasn't taking notice of the chandelier, however. One of the room's many enchantments was that it usually kept itself neat. Treasure didn't really like having to clean up after herself, something she'd had to do for years before finding an enchantment to put a rest to the bothersome task. Now, however, thanks to _Martha Steward's Household Spells and Charms,_ Treasure didn't have to worry about cleaning up her room. A simple re-ordering spell did the job for her, and left the room clean for up to two weeks, not matter what took place inside it. Treasure found it quite amusing that Muggles and magic-folk alike benefited from the household endeavors of Ms. Steward, who wasn't quite the pristine, friendly blonde lady she liked to portray. In fact, she was actually quite a mean witch, in spite of her smiling face and perfect matron-esque appearance.

But Treasure wasn't taking notice of the versatile Ms. Steward either. She was laying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling through the green and white hangings that made the canopy above her. The re-ordering spell that had been done was wearing off, and Treasure's school books were lying messily all over her floor and bed, along with her summer clothes. Treasure had completed most of her homework, leaving Transfiguration and Potions for last once again. She felt her necklace grow warm and opened it up, muttering an annoyed "Mrs. Treasure Black," before coming face to face with Lily.

"Hey, Tres," said Lily, smiling up at her from the miniscule locket. Treasure sighed and allowed a grin, "What's up, Lils?" she responded, rolling over onto her stomach to talk to her friend. Lily was looking over Treasure's shoulder at the state of the bedroom.

"God, Tres, what blew up in your room? What a mess!" Lily said, her eyes wide as she took in the socks and bras that were hanging off the once-elegant chandelier. Treasure rolled her eyes and aimed her wand over her shoulder.

"_Ponorden!_" she snapped, and at once all the scattered items in the room set themselves right and hopped about to their places.

Lily looked wistful. "You're so lucky you get to do magic," she sighed. Treasure smiled slightly. "So what's new, Lils?" she asked. Lily shrugged.

"Nothing. I've finished all my homework…it leaves me very little to do, actually. Petunia's taken to ignoring me completely, but my parents are rather interested in those picture's we took at Hogsmeade last year."

"Pictures?" Treasure said faintly, remembering the conditions under which the pictures had been taken. Lily grinned.

"Yes. Remember, we went into Zonko's and nearly got kicked out because you and Sirius wouldn't stop hurling Dungbombs at each other?" she said, rolling her eyes. Treasure smiled again, but promptly lapsed into a scowl.

"I remember," she said, raising an eyebrow. Both she and Sirius had found it quite necessary to test the merchandise before buying it. Needless to say, they were quite satisfied, although perhaps the Zonko's manager was not. "One of them hit him right in the face too." Lily rolled her eyes, while Treasure looked pleased.

"Yeah, and then you got all soppy and helped him clean it off -"

"But the Scouring Spell burned him, didn't it?" Treasure was starting to look smug. Lily had to remind herself to be patient, that Treasure wasn't feeling particularly benevolent towards Sirius at the moment. Lily wondered if there would be an all-out war between them at Hogwarts this year. She hoped not - judging by the amount of homework they'd gotten, sixth year was going to be a tough one.

"Yes, it did. And then we went to Madam Puddifoot's, where you made it up to him _quite_ eagerly…" Lily said. Treasure frowned. "I forgot to keep those pictures away from my parents, by accident, Tres. They asked me if the teachers truly allow such fraternizing between students to go along unchecked…" Treasure felt her face heat.

"Your _parents_ saw that picture!"

"Yes. It appears that even in a photograph, neither you nor Sirius can keep your hands off each other. It's nearly as bad as Laurel and Remus."

"Yeah, well, it hasn't been that way for a while," Treasure snapped, very nearly slamming the locket closed on Lily. Lily looked sympathetic.

"I'm sorry, Treasure, but you've got to stop harping on about him. You keep complaining about how he never wrote you - but it doesn't look as if you wrote to him either, now does it?"

"I haven't been _harping_, Lily! _You_ keep bringing _him_ up all the time!"

"Only because I know you want to talk about it, but are too bloody proud to say so!" Lily retorted.

Lily, damn her, had a point. Treasure didn't let the scowl lift off her face, but she didn't say anything either, so Lily knew that Treasure knew that she was right. Lily laughed. "I bet you right now he's just as angry at you as you are with him. You two do know how to make a very talented mess of things, don't you? Well, I have to go, Tres. I'll talk to you tomorrow." And Treasure heard the tiniest of clicks as Lily shut her own locket, leaving a blank space that would have normally been filled with a picture, if this had been a Muggle locket.

Treasure rolled over again and stared at the ceiling, but after a while a piece of parchment and a quill floated reluctantly over to her.


	2. Number Twelve Grimmauld Place

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

"It's unfortunate, really, how many Mudbloods have been accepted to Hogwarts of late, Mother. _I_ don't see how anyone could allow it to continue. _Slytherin_, at least, hasn't been so soiled of yet," Regulus Black said, over a goblet of expensive wine. Sirius tried to block out his brother's grating voice but he found it nearly impossible.

"I know, my boy, I know. At least you have the good sense to limit your experiences with such people. How your brother can stand a whole year in _his_ house, I'll never know," Mrs. Black answered, shooting a condescending glare at her eldest son, who was resolutely staring at his plate.

A month into summer holiday and already Sirius was wishing to be back at Hogwarts. At least there he wouldn't have to hear his good-for-nothing brother simper around Mrs. Black all day, the two of them whining about Muggle-borns at Hogwarts. Sirius had for the most party kept himself cooped up in his room, but that lack of air was getting to him. He'd exchanged owls with James and Remus but it wasn't enough to take his mind off of the hell that he was living through every day.

Mrs. Black and Regulus continued to talk as if he wasn't there, and Sirius felt his jaw clenching. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the self-satisfied smirk on his mother's face mirrored in his younger brother's. Regulus Black was going into his fourth year at Hogwarts and had informed everyone about the new club that had undoubtedly started in the Slytherin house. Calling themselves the Death Eaters, it was a club that could only function in the Slytherin house, and it was entirely devoted to complaining about Muggle-born witches and wizards entering Hogwarts. Sirius shook his head, annoyed and impatient, and walked from the room while his mother was in the middle of commenting on the low sort of company Sirius seemed to enjoy keeping.

Even in the hallway, Sirius couldn't escape the hateful conversations going on in his house. Truly the black sheep of his family, Sirius was the only one who thought it was ridiculous to judge the caliber of witch or wizard on their lineage. After all, one just had to look at Peter to know that being Pureblood had absolutely nothing to do with one's skills as a wizard.

"Young Master Black is a disgrace to the great Black family. Oh, how it pains my mistress, it does," Kreacher, the house elf, hissed from the shadows. Sirius growled lowly under his breath and flung his goblet, which he had brought with him from the table, into to the corner where the useless servant's voice had come. An angry yelp gave Sirius the momentary satisfaction of knowing that the heavy goblet had hit the little varmint, but the feeling was fleeting and altogether gone by the time Sirius climbed up the rickety black staircase and reached his room.

Sirius felt his spirits begin to lift as the first thing that greeted him upon entering his large room was a familiar white dove. Snow, Treasure's bird, was perched loftily on the windowsill, a haughty look in her sapphire eyes as the dull glow from her golden beak and talons glinted from the candlelight.

"Have you got something for me, then?" Sirius asked, closing and locking the door behind him gratefully. The bird cooed but didn't move, and Sirius felt himself smiling for the first time in a while when he though of Treasure, and how her snooty carrier pigeon matched her owner's personality observably. Sirius walked across the room and took the letter from Snow's foot, unfolding it eagerly and wondering for moment about the accusatory look in the bird's eyes.

_Sirius_,

_I hope you've been having an excellent summer. _

Sirius rolled his eyes, glancing angrily at the door and moving closer to the candlelight so he could make out Treasure's wild handwriting better. He smiled to himself slightly, more anxious than ever to get back to Hogwarts.

_I wouldn't know, of course, since you haven't written but I suppose you must be busy. Things are wonderful here in New York, but I've just left to the Salem Institute of the Magical Arts, and am going to be taking a two week course specializing in Transfiguration. _

_That isn't the most interesting part, though. We've been split up into groups of two and have each been given an instructor who specializes in spell invention! My partner is a boy from Georgia and I think he's got a bit of a crush on me. He's very good looking too, and he's got this odd little accent …_

Sirius swore viciously at the letter, which went on for about eight more inches about Brent from Georgia and his amazing accent, and how his father has a farm full of magical creatures and a greenhouse filled with mandrake babies and Venomous Tentaculas. He crumpled up the parchment and threw it into a corner, cursing at Treasure with a passion that startled Snow into an indignant fit of ivory feathers.

"What ever is that matter, Sirius?" Mrs. Black said from the doorway. Sirius started, not having heard her magically unlock the door to his bedroom. Regulus was looking in over her shoulder, a smug grin on his pale lips. Sirius felt the urge to whip out his wand and erupt white hot boils over both their faces, and he would have, too, if it hadn't meant expulsion from Hogwarts. Then again, with Treasure off happily gallivanting on some farm with some Georgian farm boy, returning to Hogwarts was lacking the luster that had kept Sirius clinging to some semblance of sanity for the past month. With a disgusted snarl, Sirius made to throw out the letter and forget all about the twit.

"_Accio!" _Mrs. Black said unexpectedly, her wand out in an instant, and Treasure's letter zooming toward her through the air. "Oy!" Sirius bellowed, vaulting from his chair and standing with his fists clenched and shaking at his side.

"What is this, my boy? A letter from a girl?" Mrs. Black asked, her dark eyes glittering maliciously at him in mad sort of way. Sirius clenched his fists harder, watching her warily. After all, she had a wand and didn't have to worry about a Ministry hearing for using it. And Mrs. Black wasn't exactly known for her sanity, especially concerning her Mudblood loving eldest son.

"Sirius has a girlfriend," Regulus said nastily. Sirius's jaw clenched, Treasure's words echoing in his mind: _My partner is a boy from Georgia…he's got a bit of a crush on me…he's so funny, Sirius, he raises nifflers on his farm!_

"Doesn't look like she's very pleased with you, though, does it?" Regulus continued, reading over his mother's shoulder. "Brent, is it? It seems she thinks pretty highly of him, Sirius. He's promised her a phoenix hatchling!"

Snow gave an affronted coo from the top of Sirius's closet, but she was very studiously ignored.

"Give it here!" Sirius growled.

"Oh, oh, oh, Sirius. Don't tell me you are going to defend this American wretch? Off at Salem for two weeks, and according to her she's only been there three days and she's writing to you about some boy…No son of mine associates with such rubbish. I bet she's not even Pureblood -"

"She is!" Sirius broke in angrily, not knowing who to be more angry with: his mother, his brother or Treasure.

"No she isn't you filthy little liar! Your brother told me all about this piece of trash you seem to devote yourself to. Both her parents are Muggles!"

"They're a witch and a wizard, just like you and Father!" Sirius shouted.

"Mudbloods, both of them! Why do you do this to me, Sirius? Your poor, doting mother who only wants the best for you? First you get Sorted into Gryffindor, a house so infested with dung and shame of the wizarding world that I can barely stand to speak of you to relatives anymore!"

It was a tirade that Sirius was well used to, as he had heard it every day of every summer since getting Sorted into Gryffindor, but it didn't make it any easier to ignore. He felt his anger building steadily until he was in such a rage that he couldn't stand it anymore. It was impossible to think that he could stay one last summer in this house, when everything about it made his skin crawl.

"And then you continue to do injury to my poor heart by romancing a Mudblood and an American! You filth, you disgust me. Shame of my flesh! Disgrace to this most noble house!"

"Don't you dare insult her!" Sirius roared, forgetting for the moment that Treasure was miles away probably on some bloody farm in Georgia with _Brent_. Mrs. Black smiled sickeningly, for she had not forgotten.

"You are a failure and I no longer call you my son," she said in her sanest voice, which was enough to give anyone chills but Sirius was too angry to notice. "Thankfully I have your brother hear to comfort me. Stay, if you will; your father does not seem to abhor your presence under this roof as I do, but you are no son of mine!"

"Believe me, _Mother_, the sight of you is as loathsome to me almost as much as this house is odious!" Sirius snapped, his anger snapping. Mrs. Black shrieked at his blatant disregard for her position as his mother and set Treasure's letter alight, storming out of Sirius's dark room with Regulus at her heels.

Sirius glared at the flames of Treasures letter until they burned down to embers and finally pale white ashes. He kicked them aside as he pulled out his broomstick and trunk. It was time to for him leave Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, but his leaving had been long overdue.


	3. The Templeton Farm

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Treasure sat blearily in the cafeteria of the Salem Institute of the Magical Arts; it was seven o' clock in the morning and she only had four days left before she would be returning to Manhattan. With a sigh, she shifted her food around her plate and took a sip of orange juice. The noisy, pristine cafeteria in Salem was nothing like that huge Great Hall at Hogwarts. For one thing, the cafeteria had a plain low ceiling instead of the bewitched ceiling at Hogwarts. There were pillars made of tiny white mosaic tiles depicting centaurs and mermaids, who amused themselves by moving around the walls in an almost dizzying way. The lighting consisted of chandeliers in which resided tiny pixies who would dance and visit each other at their own will.

It was pretty, but it wasn't home.

Treasure was counting down the days until she would be heading back to Hogwarts. There were four days left in her seminar here in Salem, and then about three weeks until school started again. Treasure didn't know what she was going to do for three weeks but she would have to make due, as Lily hadn't invited her over to spend some time together before going back for their sixth year.

Treasure sighed again and poured out more ketchup onto her plate, ignoring the disdainful look that one of the nearest mermaids gave her. She was sitting by herself closest to a large, ornately decorated pillar, and the mermaid that called the pillar home seemed insulted that Treasure had ordered salmon for breakfast.

"Is that salmon, or are you making a soup?"

Treasure looked up to see Brent and smiled weakly, although not particularly thrilled to see him. "Hey, Brent," she said wearily, yawning widely and wishing that the four days were up so she could get back to moping full time in her room.

"Why so glum, Tres?" Brent asked. Treasure tried to shake herself out of her bad mood. After all, Brent was a relatively good looking boy. He was tall and had broad shoulders, probably from working on that farm of his. He had curly red-brown hair and freckles spattered so frequently across his skin that if gave him a healthy burnished look of someone used to spending more time outside than inside. His best feature was, undoubtedly, his clear blue eyes which Treasure met now; they were glittering with concern. Treasure and Brent had become fast friends over the course of ten days, and it was a good thing too; as partners for the seminar, they had to spend nearly every waking minute with each other. If he had turned out to be less than the great guy he was, Treasure wasn't sure she would have made it through the first three days at Salem. As it was, she still was moping around even though she had made a new friend.

The only problem with Brent was that he wasn't a rich, annoyingly arrogant dark-haired, grey-eyed wizard from Britain who hadn't bothered to respond to her letters for the past two weeks.

"Nothing, I'm just kind of tired is all," Treasure said quietly. Brent sat down opposite her and tried to get her to meet his eyes.

"I think you're lying to me, Tres."

"I'm _not_," Treasure said angrily, glaring at him from across the table and shoving her plate away. She made to stand up, but in that instant a fluttering of wings announced the arrival of mail. Out of instinct and against her better judgment, Treasure looked up. Thousands of pigeons were flying in through the wide open windows, fluttering with letters, sweets, and the occasional Howler for the students of Salem Institute. Brent suddenly got an annoyingly smug look on his face, one that reminded Treasure all too well of another smug wizard who quite frequently drove her insane.

"Waiting for a letter, I see," he said.

"_No,"_ Treasure said stoutly, crossing her arms over her chest and looking pointedly away from the pigeons, her skin on edge with anticipation that one of them would be coming from her. She'd sent Sirius a total of three letters, each one dallying on longer than the last about what a wonderful time she was having at Salem. Sirius hadn't even bothered to answer one, not even when Treasure made sure to write about how incredibly witty and attractive Brent was as a partner. It seemed Sirius didn't even _care_ if she found another boy to flirt with.

Treasure was beginning to despise Salem and all its attributes.

"Tell you what, Tres. The past ten days you've been looking worse and worse for wear, and this Transfiguration calls is a load of fertilizer anyway. I snuck in some Floo powder -"

"Just what are you getting at, Brent?" Treasure asked distractedly, watching as the last few pigeons flew into the cafeteria and weren't headed at all in her direction.

"You city girls are so uptight. You need some time away from all this," he said, gesturing to the mild chaos of the cafeteria. "Meet me in front of the fireplace in the library at midnight, and you can come to the farm with me," Brent said, chucking Treasure under the chin and getting up to walk away.

Treasure bit her lip and glared as a spare feather floated down onto her robes. _Not a single letter from Sirius this whole time_, she thought dejectedly. She stared across the cafeteria to where Brent was laughing with a few of his friends. Pushing back her messy hair hastily and running back up to her dorm, Treasure began to gather her things from all the corners where they'd managed to end up.

To Georgia, then.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Treasure mumbled under her breath as Brent handed her some Floo powder. They had conjured a respectable fire in the fireplace fairly quickly after Brent had helped Treasure haul her heavy trunk into the room.

"Shut up and get in," Brent said amiably, tossing a bit of powder on the flames so that they glowed green. Treasure grinned at him and stalked over to the fireplace. "Templeton farm, Georgia!" she cried, and in a haze of emerald flames and soot, she went off spinning. It had been a while since Treasure traveled by Floo powder, and so it seemed longer than usual but after a while she felt herself falling out of the fireplace and onto a cold stone floor.

"Damn you, Brent, why didn't you warn me I'd end up in a cellar?" Treasure muttered, picking herself and her trunk off the floor. Moments later, Brent came stumbling out of the fireplace with his own trunk, and shot a sooty grin her way.

"I hope you told your mother you'd be bringing a girl home," Treasure said, brushing ashes off the front of her robes and making to lug her trunk up the stairs to whatever room she'd be staying in.

"Leave it, I'll bring it up later," Brent said, grabbing her hand and leading her up the stairs. It was just past midnight, so Treasure didn't know where he thought they'd be going together, but she followed anyway. She had her wand clutched in her pocket anyway, just incase this nice Georgian farm boy got any ideas. Treasure was a city girl and she knew pretty well how to defend herself - even better since Lily got her that book of jinxes - but she hoped she wouldn't have to all the same. You never could tell with boys, though, Treasure thought hopelessly. They really were so stupid.

"You can stay here," Brent said, opening up a door to a rather small room that was filled almost entirely with a large four poster bed. The linens were red, a dark maroon red so reminiscent of Hogwarts that Treasure felt a homesickness so acute she would have Apparated to the Gryffindor Common Room if she could and it were possible.

The rest of the room consisted of wooden panels on the walls and a warm rug on the floor, as well as two large windows facing the east. "The drapes are pretty thick so just pull them closed if you want to sleep in," Brent said, squeezing her hand and vanishing to his own room.

"Well, this wasn't spontaneous at all," Treasure said to herself, closing the door and leaning against it. She didn't want to think of the Howlers she'd get - one from her parents and one from Lily - when they found out that she'd skipped the rest of the seminar and dashed off to Georgia.

* * *

"Good morning, Mrs. Templeton," Treasure said uneasily as she headed into the kitchen. Brent's mother was tall and sturdily built, with nearly as many freckles as her son if not more. She had the same red-brown hair, but had big, kind brown eyes instead of her son's captivating blue. All the same, Treasure felt slightly awkward walking into the kitchen of a woman she'd never met before and explaining that her son had invited her to stay.

"Well, you must be Treasure! You certainly are pretty, but my Brent does know how to pick 'em. Why, just last year -"

"Morning, Mama," Brent said, walking into the kitchen in a pair of sweats and a T-shirt that looked to Treasure to be a bit too small for him, the way it was stretching over this broad shoulders. _They certainly don't make them like that in the city_, Treasure thought, coughing over her mug of coffee. Brent grinned roguishly, and Treasure felt supremely uncomfortable.

"Your hospitality is greatly appreciated, Mrs. Templeton, but I'm afraid I can't stay here. My parents are going to kill me when they find out I've ditched Salem -"

"Brent tells me that you go to Hogwarts?" Mrs. Templeton interrupted.

"Yeah…" Treasure said, blinking.

"Why, that's a great sight farther than Georgia. Are you sure you can't stay?"

"Very. I'm going to write to my mother now, if you don't mind. Or maybe you could take me back to Salem now, Brent?"

"Oh, come on, Belle…"

"Belle?" Mrs. Templeton said suddenly, a smile on her face. "Treasure _Belle_? Is Louis Belle your father?" Treasure blinked again, wondering if she'd overslept in Salem and this was some superbly strange dream she was having.

"Yeah, yeah he is."

"Oh, Louis! I knew him. We were a bit of an item at Salem _years_ ago, before he met your mother. Lucky woman, huh?" Brent's mother laughed so jovially that Treasure could only shake her head in amazement.

"I'm sure you can stay now, I'll just go talk to him now and you sit and eat your breakfast." Mrs. Templeton was out the door in a flash, leaving Treasure quite stupefied and staring at where the woman had just been sitting.

"What in the world is going on?" she asked Brent, who grinned and pulled on a his robe.

"You looked so miserable at Salem, I thought you might need a break. You'll probably stay here until you have to go back to school. I thought it might take your mind off whoever is making you so depressed."

"_No one_ is making me depressed, Brent!" Treasure lied.

"If you say so," Brent said, his blue eyes twinkling annoyingly and his voice so offhand that Treasure thought of Sirius again. She swore under her breath and gulped down her coffee, praying that her mother at least would have the good sense to forbid her from staying her a moment longer.

* * *

"Oh, its _wonderful!_ Louis says he's surprised to hear from me, and Dana thinks its just a great big coincidence that you ended up here. They are a bit disappointed that Salem didn't thrill you, but they think that by staying here you'll have a chance a great new experience. A 'new door to open in the magical world,' I think was what your mother said," Mrs. Templeton said eagerly. They were sitting around the table and it was nearly 10:30 in the morning, the rest of Brent's family having just woken up and joined them. He had three younger sisters and two older brothers, all of them with a random assortment of chestnut hair and blue or brown eyes.

Liam was the oldest at nineteen and Treasure found herself being heartily distracted by him. She thought she was being discreet about it, but Brent was the first to notice and he seemed extremely amused. Taking his friend's mind off of whatever English bloke had her preoccupied was going to be easier than he thought.

"I guess it wouldn't be so bad," she said, smirking to herself. _Take this, Sirius_. Until now, Treasure hadn't realized just how insane her parents were. It was one thing to let your daughter take place in an exchange program and go to England for school. It was quite another to let her Floo powder herself to a farm in Georgia on whim and not berate her for it.

"Right, well you can work in the greenhouse with Brent or the stables with Liam," Mrs. Templeton said, her dark brown eyes glinting mischievously. Treasure dimpled.

"I don't have much of a green thumb," she said apologetically to Brent, who shrugged.

"Alright, Belle, let's go," Liam said, getting up from the table and walking out the door to the stables. Treasure followed, thinking that perhaps her summer vacation would start to look up after all.


	4. Fire

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

A/N: I haven't updated this story since November, but I've been bitten by the Harry Potter bug and I'm absolutely nuts for Sirius again. So off we go.

"Thanks for letting me stay here, Mrs. Potter," Sirius said. It was half past midnight on the very same night that he had packed up his things and left Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, hopefully never to return. He didn't plan on going to James, but resolving to leave your house and actually doing it were two very different things. Given that the vast majority of his relatives despised him for a blood traitor, Sirius found that he had no where else to go.

He had felt awkward at first about showing up suddenly and without warning on the front stoop of his friend's sturdy little house in Kent, but James had been by chance looking out the window and had bounded out the door to greet him. With his characteristic obliviousness, James had invited Sirius in without even asking his parents, despite the fact that it was 12:30 in the morning. The Potters were surprised but not unpleasantly so, and it was soon agreed that Sirius could stay until school started again.

"It's no problem at all, dear. Could I fix you some tea? Are you hungry, I'm sure I could warm something up for you if you are -"

"No, Mrs. Potter, I'm quite fine really -"

"Well, you look a bit peaky dear. Why don't you go on up to James's room and I'll bring you both up some tea. Then off to bed with the both of you and we'll have a chat in the morning, all right? Go on now," Mrs. Potter said, smiling a bit sleepily at her son and his friend.

"Come on, Padfoot, my room's upstairs," James said with a grin. He was clearly _not_ tired, although Sirius felt like a good rest would be quite appropriate. He didn't want to think of how his mother would react - or rather, how she would _not_ react, to his absence. Her dislike for him had long since stopped causing him any momentary pain or regret - he didn't particularly like her either, and merely wished that he could have a mother more like Mrs. Potter, who was clearly not a mad, twisted, bitter bat.

"So have you heard from Treasure at all?" James asked, once they reached his room. Mr. Potter had followed them up and Conjured a cot for Sirius to sleep on, and had quietly left the room after the boys had called their thanks.

"Yeah. She's sent me three letters all about some bloke named Brent, who apparently invited her to stay at his _farm_ for the next three weeks."

James snorted. "A farm, hmm? What the bloody hell did you do to the girl that made her console herself by going to a bloody _farm_?"

Sirius felt a hot flash of rage shoot through him. "I didn't do _anything_! Her parents sent her to Salem for some sodding History of American Magic class, and she met the git there."

James shrugged. "Things'll sort out by the time we get back to Hogwarts. Soup!" he added enthusiastically, as a tray laden with thick pumpkin soup and apple cider appeared the in the middle of the room. James applied himself to the food, but Sirius was more reluctant. The thought of Treasure with some milk-fed farm boy made him lose his appetite.

"What do you say we head down to Diagon Alley tomorrow, Padfoot? Plenty of girls there to take your mind of off Tres. And she'd never need to know," James suggested. Perhaps, he might even see Lily there. She seemed like the type to get all her book shopping done early, and perhaps he, James, had matured a bit over the summer, enough so that she'd want to talk to him. He didn't notice any difference, but girls were always mad about things like that, wanting 'mature' blokes.

"Yeah, all right," Sirius agreed, digging into the hot soup with new-found gusto. Plenty of fish in the sea, right? And Treasure seemed to be enjoying herself on that stupid farm - why should Sirius feel at all guilty if he were to have his own fun?

* * *

"So you've grown up on this farm all your life, then?" Treasure asked, rolling up the rather long sleeves of the work shirt that Liam had let her borrow. She had spent nearly a week on the farm and was slowly getting to know everyone. Mr. Templeton was a kind man, still young-looking with skin so burnished from work outdoors that he had not a wrinkle, except when he smiled. He and Mrs. Templeton were the epitome of healthy parents, and each and every one of their children were robust and lively and Treasure found she was quite enjoying herself away from her room on the 88th floor, where her flowers moped right along with her, and her mother played endless Celestina Warbeck love songs.

Liam was the oldest of the Templeton boys, followed closely by Eric, who was just a year older than Treasure at seventeen and then Brent who was, of course, Treasure's age. Then there were the three girls - Paige, who Treasure was surprised to find was Brent's twin, Angie, who was twelve, and Cora who was just barely three. None of the Templeton children seemed the slightest bit upset at Treasure's sudden appearance in the middle of the night, and Paige and Angie were fascinated with stories of the city. They'd never left the farm and Treasure promised that she would ask her parents as soon as possible if they could stay with her.

Treasure was now in the stable once again with Liam, with whom she had spent considerable time in an effort to take her mind off of Sirius. She was succeeding, for the most part. Her anger at her so-called boyfriend had not abated, but she was no longer moping. She had just run up to her room and put on some make up, making sure her skin was clear and dewy and her lips glistening with vanilla-flavored lip gloss. Liam looked amused at the flirtatious lilt in her voice and let his eyes turn away from the docile fire-red mare he was tending to, still cautiously avoiding the steam that was coming from the flame-horse's nostrils. Treasure stretched like a cat and braided her hair back quickly, weaving it around her head like a crown.

"Yeah, I was born on this farm and I'll probably stay on it all my life," he answered, not sounding the least bit unhappy as hepulled on protective gloves and turned to the mare. He had to check her over routinely, because she was on of the farm's prized mares - the finest flame-horse his father had ever bred, in fact. She had good blood in her, but was still too young for breeding. Liam wanted to enter her in races, as the Templeton's eldest daughter, Paige, was slight enough to be a talented jockey. Mr. Templeton wouldn't hear of it, however, but all the same Liam checked over the mare - who looked just like a Muggle Arabian mare, but for the fact that she was a peculiar shade of fuchsia - and hoped that his mother could get through his father's opposition to letting Paige ride.

Treasure felt slightly envious of Liam's certainty in his future. He was calm and implaccable, happy on the farm and in his family. His life was routine but not dull, safe and planned and not a bit insecure. Liam's life, its predictability and security, tantilized Treasure who had never really known anything of the sort. It made her like Liam all the more.

"It must be hard, working the farm everyday, dawn to dusk," Treasure said slyly. She enjoyed watching him as he handled the mare, with a strange kind of reverence that she felt might be akin to something she felt when she took care of the little unicorn foal, her Aelia. Treasure felt another stab of homesickness despite the comfort of the farm.

Liam looked up at her as she stared at the harnesses and saddles designed to be lightweight and practical. Her eyes were unfocused as if she were looking inward rather than out, although her hand traced the intricate leather weaving of the saddle, and the little glass beads that decorated it; a flourish, she supposed, added by Paige.

"What's bothering you, Treasure?" Liam asked quietly.

Treasure started, her hand snapping away from the saddle and her eyes focusing again quickly. She smoothed a smile over her face, bright and chipper but not quite genuine. "Nothing!" she said cheerily. She nodded back to the saddle and her smile lessened but didn't disappear. Liam was surprised to see a brighter light spark from behind her eyes, one of genuine interest

"Could we go for a ride? Right now?" she asked, biting her lip and looking up at him with sparkling eyes. He'd taken her for rides across their expansive land before, but it never ceased to thrill her. He checked his watch - it was nearly seven, past time for dinner.

"Aren't you hungry?" he asked politely. Over the past week, Treasure had proven herself a ravenous young woman. Luckily for her, the Templetons' had put her to work on the farm, so the huge amounts she ate were kept at bay from showing too much.

"We can bring something with us, can't we? Oh, come on, please?" she begged, walking over to him and grabbing his hand. Liam grinned in surprise, watching her curiously light eyes as they danced on his face. He knew that all was not right with Treasure, but when she was in a good mood, her mischievousness was infectious.

"All right," he said amiably. She whooped and kissed him on the cheek quickly.

"I'll go tell your mom," she said, bounding out of the stable and tearing across the pasture, piquing the curiosity of the other mares and startling the foals. Liam shook his head in amazement at her swift changes of mood and patted the mare on the neck. He led her out into the pasture for a while, then paused on second thought and grabbed the saddle and bridlefromtheirplaces on the wall.

"You females are all crazy," he said before carefully checking over the stable and locking it for the night.

* * *

"Well, okay, honey, if you really want to have dinner outside I guess you can," said Mrs. Templeton cautiously. She thought Treasure was really rather overdressed for a ride up to the highest point of the farm, right on the edges of the tiny lake that the Templetons' owned, but she understood that Treasure was a city girl and maybe a bit odd because of it.

"Make sure you take a jacket, though, because it might be a bit cold up there," she warned, folding a blanket and placing it on top of the basket that contained Treasure and Liam's dinner. She knew the two had a bit of a crush on each other, and that was completely fine with her, but Treasure really was a strange girl. She was polite of course, no doubt about that, and well brought up just like Mrs. Templeton knew the daughter of Louis and Dana Belle would be, but she also seemed extremely introverted and sad at times. Mrs. Templeton wasn't a fool - she knew the girl missed her Hogwarts friends, maybe even a boy; it wasn't so long ago that Mrs. Templeton was a teenager herself. But she also thought that maybe the problem was the Treasure didn't see enough of her parents. The poor girl spent most of the year across the Atlantic, and in the few months that she did have at home, her parents were busy working and Treasure was sent to Salem. Mrs. Templeton couldn't imagine being so estranged from her children, but it seems to suit the Belles relatively well.

"Thank you for everything, Mrs. Templeton," Treasure said sincerely, and in one of her rare moments of undeniable happiness, she flew from the dining room to meet Liam by the pasture.

_Oh, Sirius, I do hope you're having a good time in London_, she thought, not certain if she was being sincere or not. Over the last few days she'd thought of him less and less, and quite often made fun of herself for taking things so seriously, no pun intended. The harmony of the Templeton farm soothed her jangled city-girl nerves and the clean air was probably adding a good few years to her life. She only had two weeks left here, but she hoped it wouldn't be the only time she stayed on the Templeton farm.

Besides, Liam was quite a looker. He looked like an older version of Brent which, Treasure supposed, he was. His shoulders were broader, his voice deeper, and his hair slightly darker as well as eyes. Treasure had found herself becoming more and more comfortable, happier and happier and less eager for school to start. She missed Lily, and she missed causing trouble in Hogwarts, but she knew that at the same time she would miss the farm terribly once the school year began.

It didn't help that she had barely gotten through her homework, and the bits that she did do were not done at all thoroughly. Treasure was starting to feel dread build up in the pit of her stomach at the thought of Sixth Year but also elation - she'd soon be seventeen, and legal, and able to do magic whenever she pleased. Then one more year left of school and she could get a job. She didn't know whether she'd want to get a job in England or in the U.S. but she put that out of her mind as she rushed to meet Liam.

"Oh!" she said, when she saw the fire-red mare he had waiting for her.

"You'd let me ride _her_?" Treasure asked, breathless. Liam grinned, appreciating her genuine shock.

"Just be careful," he said, "she's a wild one. I think you're probably well matched, though."

Treasure wrinkled her nose at him and let him help her into the saddle. She positively glowed with happiness as he vaulted up onto his pitch black stallion with the basket of food.

"Let's go fast, can we?" Treasure begged and without waiting for an answer, nudged the mare with her heels in the direction of the hill.

A/N: There you go, kids. Chapter 4 after about half a year. Hope you enjoy.


	5. Something To Be Sorry For

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

A/N: Still don't quite know where this story is going….

"Tres, wait!" Liam called uselessly as the red mare shot off like a flash with Treasure clinging on joyfully. Liam felt a sick worry build up in the pit of his stomach - he highly doubted that before she had come to the farm she had even _seen_ a horse, let along rode one. Well, that was being a bit unfair - they did have those mounted Muggle policemen in the city, but Muggle horses were nothing at all like magical ones. He nudged is own mount into action and went tearing after Treasure, berating himself for letting her ride the red and wishing that his own black stallion was anywhere near as fast as the mare. The black looked almost indistinguishable from a regular horse, except for the fact that his hooves were made of solid gold. Gold hooves didn't help your speed any, though.

Up ahead and fading into the distance, Treasure was screaming in pure euphoria, and just a tad of fear. She had never really ridden a horse before this past week, and the red was a wild thing. Treasure didn't care, though. The ground was soft; it must have rained some time during the day, so if she fell, it probably wouldn't hurt too much. She was only worried that the red would run away somewhere and hurt herself if Treasure fell, and so she hung on as tightly as she could, her hair flying out behind her. She held on low over the mare's neck, the coarse flame-red mane of her mount whipping her painfully in the face. Treasure felt tears building in her eyes and flying out behind her because of the speed and the wind against her face, and she was faced with the insane desire to stretch her arms out on either side of her and pretend she was flying.

Treasure was naturally impulsive, so she did just that and for about half a second felt as if she were flying on very turbulent air. If she had been an experience rider, perhaps she would have gripped harder with her knees or moved her body in time with the red. Treasure had only ridden a horse handful of times and mostly in the last seven days, and she had never ridden a horse like the red, so when she stretched her arms out she stayed mounted for about three seconds before toppling sideways and rolling onto soft grass.

Breathless, Treasure looked up at the sky, aware that she'd fallen rather roughly on her wand arm but was otherwise okay. She sighed and waited for the blood rushing throughout her body to slow, and heard Liam come speeding toward her, the heavy hooves of his stallion slowing to a stop as he leapt down next to her.

"Tres, are you okay?" he asked, kneeling to look into her eyes. He blinked in shock to see that she was laughing giddily up at the sky and wondered if she'd hit her head on the fall. She met his eyes and he saw that her tawny yellow ones were shining gleefully as she pulled leaves from her hair. The smiled faded quickly.

"Where's Red?" she asked, holding her left wrist to her chest painfully and looking around. Liam grabbed her around the waist and pulled her up to stand. He brushed leaves out of her hair and took her wrist gently, turning it over in his hands.

"You've got a fracture," he said. Treasure wasn't listening as she tried to squirm out of his grasp; she was looking for the red. Liam pulled his wand out and tapped her wrist, and Treasure barely registered that the pain was gone.

"I'm so sorry, Liam. She was going so fast I felt like I was flying, and I let go and just fell…"

"You let go? Riding the red, and you let _go_?"

"I know it was stupid of me but I wasn't thinking and now she's gone! Oh, God, you must hate me…I should probably go back to the city, I'm tearing your farm apart -"

"Treasure, calm down. Come here," Liam said, squinting at her in the twilight. He pulled her over to the stallion and helped her up, jumping up on behind her. "She knows the place, Tres. She's probably there already, waiting for us."

Treasure sighed in relief and sagged against Liam as they made their way - slowly - up to the hill. Sure enough, the red was there calmly grazing. She looked up at the three - Treasure, Liam, and the stallion - with clear, slightly mocking violet eyes. Treasure slid quickly off the stallion and ran over to the red, who danced around the girl happily. Yes, there were quite a few similarities between the red and Treasure. The two made a frighteningly impulsive pair, wild and impetuous. Liam patted his sturdy black stallion on the neck as he dismounted, not bothering to tether either animal because magic horses - unlike Muggle horses - are always curiously in tune with their riders and, unless seriously frightened, do not attempt to run away.

Liam spread the blanket slowly and grinned when Treasure, like a disheveled raven, flew over and tackled him happily, smelling of leaves and soft earth from her fall.

1.

Across the Atlantic sea, Sirius and James were sitting with the other two Gryffindor soon-to-be sixth years, Violet and Isabelle. Violet was violently in love with Sirius and had no qualms about letting him know it. She had her hand on his knee and had wiggled until his arm was around her coquettishly bared shoulders. Sirius was fully aware of the treason he was most likely committing - Violet and Treasure were, for reasons unknown to him, the bitterest of enemies, even more so than Treasure and Eva Grindoth of Slytherin, and the enmity between Violet and Treasure was widely known at Hogwarts. Sirius was simultaneously aware that he was quite possibly taking his life in his hands by endeavoring to court Violet. Thirdly, Sirius was aware that when school started again in less than a week, he would perhaps not make it to the Sorting alive and intact if Treasure found out about this date.

Sirius was no coward, and he wasn't about to be cowed by a witch who had nothing better to do over the summer than write to him about some freckled farm boy, so he threw caution and sanity to the wind and pulled Violet arduously closer to him. She wasn't a hag, after all; quite easy on the eyes even with the pounds of whatever junk girls put on their faces.

James looked amused at his friend's slight discomfort as the quadruplet sat at a table in an outlet of the _Three Broomsticks_ in Diagon Alley. Sirius glanced uneasily at Violet, who smirked at him with painted blood red lips. Her hair had recently been charmed a shocking strawberry blond with emphasis on the strawberry; it even smelled of strawberry and each time Sirius caught a whiff of whatever unnatural scent Violet used on her hair, he thought of Treasure's wild dark mane. With an irritated groan, Sirius pushed Violet's hand off his knee and stood up.

"Let's look around, shall we?" he asked, pulling her up by her hand and shoving Treasure viciously out of his mind. Violet's eyes flashed and narrowed, but brightened when she saw that he was leading her to an antique jewelry shop, perhaps to buy her something.

"Later, Padfoot," James said, his voice quickly muffled by Isabelle's lips. Sirius shrugged darkly, apparently James was quite done mooning over Lily. If only Sirius himself could get a certain dark-haired wench out of his mind, perhaps then all would be well. He cast another glance at Violet, who was looking hopefully at him. She stopped walking and had such a forceful grip on his hand that he stopped as well. Alarmingly enough, she looked as if she was expecting a kiss. Sirius eyed her candied lips doubtfully, really not keen on having whatever vile substance girls painted their faces with on his own mouth.

"Violet, love," he said suavely, momentarily worried about the flash of triumph he saw in her eyes at the endearment. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. "You've got a bit of ice cream right - there…" he said, surreptitiously holding the handkerchief to her lips. She pulled out a mirror as she wiped her lips, and the poison red coloring was suddenly, blessedly gone. To Sirius's horror, Violet was about to pull out another tube of the stuff and if she tried to kiss him after reapplying the gunk it would most certainly stick more than ever.

"Violet!" he said, grabbing her hand to still its ascent to her lips and covering her mouth with his. She uttered a surprised but pleased little squeak but kissed him back hungrily. He wouldn't have been surprised if their shared thought was: _Take that, Treasure_.

A mere quarter of an hour later, Sirius left the jeweler with his pockets a good deal lighter and a cooing Violet clutching eager at his hand. Sirius sighed and turned off his brain to her little exclamations of delight, thinking instead of how thrilled Treasure had been when he'd given her the ornate necklace which had been an heirloom in the Black family for centuries.

_Bloody hell_, he thought to himself.

"What are you thinking about, dearest?" Violet said, blinking at him in a fetching sort of way except for the fact that her eyelashes were clumped together in a very strange fringe that extended from her eyes. Sirius pondered his answer, knowing that Violet would be far from pleased if he admitted to thinking about Treasure.

"I just hope you like your ring, Violet," he said, which set her off again into fits of joy at the old gold ring holding a heavy ruby. "It's lovely!" she cried, and ran off to talk to Isabelle about it.

Sirius sighed and thought about returning to Hogwarts in three days time. It left him with mixed feelings. Of course, he would be glad to get back and stop being such a burden to the Potters. Even the workload was beginning to look weirdly seductive, as it might distract Violet and leave him with some free time. But he didn't want to face Treasure upon returning to Hogwarts. That was definitely something he could stand to do without.

1.

"I've got to go to school in three days," Treasure said sadly, looking up from Liam's shoulder; he was serving as an excellent pillow.

"I know," he said, lazily conjuring a blanket and pulling it over her. Treasure smiled and snuggled closer, and then sighing.

"You know, technically I've got a boyfriend. Or, at least I think I do. And technically, I shouldn't be doing this," she said, her stomach twisting with guilt and irritation. Liam rolled over onto his side and looked straight into her eyes.

"Doing what?"

"This!" Treasure said, gesturing furiously at the two of them laying sprawled on a hill, sharing a blanket and having just finished a romantic sunset-twilight picnic.

"I knew you had a boyfriend, Tres. Brent told me. But it hasn't stopped you," Liam said bluntly, and Treasure grimaced.

"I'm sorry," she said grudgingly, sitting up and pulling her knees to her chest. "I just wanted to forget about him. I'd written him so many letters asking to visit, and he never wrote back. It's like I didn't exist - I'm sorry, you probably don't want to hear this…"

"I won't judge you Tres. And I won't lie to you. I like you. And you're only sixteen, its not like you're married."

"Yes, but -"

"And he's in England, for another thing."

"I know that -"

"And what do you think he's been doing all summer that he hasn't had any time to even write to you?"

"Oh, Liam, I'm sure he's not like that!"

"Are you?"

Treasure bit her lip. The truth was that Sirius could have any girl he wanted. She thought of his careless dark hair and gray eyes and how he was so damn good-looking, and how nearly every girl in Hogwarts had had a crush on him at some time or another…And maybe Lily was right, and what did she, Treasure, and Sirius have in common besides a passion for getting to trouble and a mutual physical attraction? When she thought about it, she had spent far more of last year kissing Sirius than talking to him.

She sighed again. She felt relieved, and at the same time lonelier than ever.

"I still feel awful about it," she said. Liam laughed and Treasure smiled sheepishly.

"Cheer up, Tres. He doesn't even have to know. And besides, we haven't even done anything yet."

"Yet?" Treasure tried to ask, but Liam pulled her back down onto the grass and kissed her before she could get even that one word out. Moments later, when cogent thought returned to her, Treasure couldn't quite remember what they had been talking about in the first place.

"Now at least you have something to feel bad about," Liam said.


	6. A Late Start

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

A/N: I'm feeling the need to get back to Hogwarts.

Three days had passed since Treasure's illicit love affair truly took flight, and she found herself back in England on Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters, standing alone and looking for her fire-haired best friend. Her trunk was leaning casually against a pillar - on that thankfully didn't allow things to simply melt right through it - and her dove, Snow, was looking perturbed as a Ministry official swept his wand over her cage. Treasure shared the dove's feeling of incredulity - security had never been tightened before, after all the majority of people in the platform were students headed to Hogwarts and if not, then the rest were parents happy to see their children off to school.

"Lily!" Treasure shouted, causing the official to cast a dubious look in her direction. Treasure shrugged and, figuring her trunk was safe among the lingering Ministry security, ran to hug her friend.

"Hey, Tres. How are you?" Lily asked happily as Treasure helped her lug her trunk next to Treasure's own; the Ministry wizard swooped down on it eagerly.

"I'm great. I missed you, Lils," Treasure said, linking arms with her friend, who didn't seem the least bit surprised that there was a wizard poking through her trunk.

"I'm sure you did," Lily said smugly. "I'll be you miss Liam more…"

"Shh!" Treasure snapped, looking around automatically for Sirius. Treasure, while feeling a bit guilty for her tryst with Liam, hadn't felt guilty enough to deny herself his company in the remaining three days of summer vacation. She didn't want Sirius to know that, however, and was motioning frantically for Lily to shut up.

"What's with all the security?" Treasure asked, more by means of changing the subject that out of actual interest. The official cast a dark look in her direction, and Treasure shrugged uncomfortably again. Lily sighed.

"There's been a bit of bad luck around here, Treasure. A bit of a crazy summer, actually. People've been getting a bit rowdy - pulling tricks on Muggles, becoming very free with their magic. Summer's always a bit hectic, but its been different recently…" Lily trailed off, her fine brows furrowed with worry.

"Different how?" Treasure asked, wondering just how much she'd missed by spending her summer with the Templetons'.

"The _Prophet_ glosses over it - you know how the wizarding community doesn't think much about Muggle-baiting, a lot of people think its just a joke. But it's gotten meaner, Tres. I don't know how to explain it, but it just feels different around here now. For a while I was worried about my family, you know," Lily lowered her voice and crossed her arms over her chest. "But hopefully since summer's ending things will quiet down."

"Don't worry, Lils, I'm sure it will," Treasure said cheerily, but giving her friend a reassuring hug all the same. Lily grinned and both girls felt better as the Ministry inspector moved away.

"Belle! Hey, Belle!" came a new voice. Treasure spun around and her eyes narrowed as they landed on Violet. Lily groaned under her breath.

"The school year hasn't even started yet, Tres, try not to get into trouble…" she warned. Treasure rolled her eyes and slipped her hand into her pocket, feeling the comforting hum of her want as her fingers closed around it.

"Honestly, Lily, you think I'm some sort of delinquent. There's no reason for me to cause trouble. Hello, Violet," Treasure added, a venomous politeness lacing her voice.

"You should keep your boy on a tighter leash, Belle," Violet said nastily, a gloating triumph in her eyes that made Treasure's face heat with anger and her fingers tighten on her wand.

"Oh, yeah? What's that supposed to mean?" Treasure challenged. Violet grinned, tossing her strawberry hair in an action clearly meant to imitate that of a veela, but falling short in Treasure's opinion.

"Only that someone better might come along and tempt him away," Violet said sweetly, shrugging.

"I'll keep that in mind if I meet anyone remotely threatening," Treasure said, "haven't yet, though," she finished, laughing out loud when Violet's eyes flashed angrily.

"Your loss, Belle. And my unbelievable gain," Violet snapped, pulling her hair back into a braid and showing off the huge, heavy old ring on her finger. She sauntered away, leaving Treasure disgruntled and Lily strangely quiet.

"What was that even about?" Treasure asked as she and Lily hauled their trunks onto the train and sat down in a compartment where Treasure could still watch what was happening on the platform. Lily cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"Well, since you've been away - and, you know, because of all those letters you sent Sirius about Brent, which _really_ wasn't an ingenious idea, Tres -"

"YOU UNBELIEVABLE BASTARD!" someone shouted on the platform, and Treasure darted out of the compartment to see what was going on. There was a flash of silver hair and then a flash of silver light and something big and dark flew through the air and knocked Treasure off her feet. Whatever it was landed on top of her heavily.

"What the -" Treasure grunted, wrenching the thing - the person - off of her.

"Sirius?" she asked, her heart jumping wildly and her stomach filling with vengeful butterflies. His eyes were closed and there was an angry white boil growing quickly on his forehead.

"What happened?" Treasure yelped; the boil looked painful.

"Bloody hell," he groaned, twisting around and meeting Treasure's eyes. She flung an arm about his shoulders and helped him sit up.

"Tres?" His eyes were crossing, but Treasure thought that might have been because he was trying to see what it was growing on his forehead.

"Hold on, you vain thing," she muttered, pulling out her wand and aiming it between his eyes.

"Oh, bloody hell!" Sirius practically yelped, trying to squirm out of Treasure's arms, as if he thought she was about to curse him to oblivion.

"Hold still, you prat!" she snarled, and murmured the counter spell to the excellent jinx fixed to his forehead. The boil shrunk and eventually disappeared, leaving a pale and anxious Sirius sprawled atop Treasure, staring skeptically into her eyes.

"Tres…"

"You're such a baby, Sirius. Did you think I'd blow your head off or something?" Treasure demanded, although admittedly not moving even though they both should have been boarding the train. A slow crowd was beginning to draw around them, but Treasure ignored that and was trying to figure out why Sirius was so nervous to be caught alone with her.

"Actually, yeah, I did think you were going to blow my head off…" Sirius muttered, although also not moving a muscle. Treasure grinned.

"If anything, you've got the right to jinx me -"

"And don't think I wont! How is _Brent _these days, anyway?" Sirius asked viciously. Treasure sighed.

"Brent was nothing, Sirius. He was just my friend, and my partner for the Salem program…"

"Handsome fellow, according to you -"

"Yeah, yeah he was. But I didn't do anything. And even though I did stay at his farm, Brent and I -"

"You _stayed_ with him? As in _overnight_?"

"Yeah, for a couple of days -"

"A couple of days! In his _room_? In his _bed_?" Sirius exclaimed, shifting around so he could grab Treasure by the shoulders, his eyes wide with jealousy and his face - and mouth - almost too close for comfort. Almost. Treasure felt her face heat, partly in anger and partly with a thrill that Sirius could get so worked up over her even though they hadn't seen each other for months.

"Not in his bed, don't be stupid. In a guest room." Treasure's stomach gave an unpleasant squirm when she thought of Liam, but she shoved him out of her mind. It was good to be back and fighting with Sirius again. Maybe the summer could just be forgotten after all; he couldn't stay mad forever. And what Sirius didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"Who'd you piss off so early in the year that they jinxed you before you even got on the train?" Treasure asked, grinning.

"Laurel," Sirius snapped, his eyes still flashing at Treasure angrily. Treasure blinked.

"Laurel?" she asked. What on earth would make Laurel so angry with Sirius?

"Sirius!"

Violet pushed her way through the crowd, which was slowly dispersing from around Sirius and Treasure and onto the train, ushered by Ministry officials who looked sorely unnerved at the show of underage magic, although since the year had technically begun (the Hogwarts Express was now, for the first time, running late) the students couldn't be held accountable. Violet's face took on an expression of rage that, had Treasure been easily intimidated, would probably have sent many a brave soul running in the opposite direction. Treasure, however, merely glared up at the strawberry-locked Gryffindor with disdain.

Violet pulled out her wand angrily.

"_What did you do to him, you horrible wretch?_" Violet shrieked.

Treasure wand was out at ready even from her spot under Sirius.

"He doesn't like you, you obsessive harpy," Treasure shot back. Violet, to Treasure's great surprise, laughed. Maniacally, but she laughed all the same. Sirius coughed uncomfortably and for the first time began to remove himself from where he was tangled with Treasure.

"Tres…" he said softly, standing up and offering her a hand up. Treasure smiled at him apologetically and squeezed his hand. He let go rather quickly, but that was okay. Treasure understood it might be a while before things were okay between them, but Liam was a distant memory and nothing had happened with Brent…

"Don't you get it, Belle. Sirius is with me now. You went _tramping_ off to the States and he found something _better_," Violet said.

"Vi!" Sirius warned, looking angry and also embarrassed.

Treasure snorted. She looked at Violet and turned to Sirius, who was rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Tres…" he said weakly.

Treasure blinked again. "Are you kidding me? She's not lying? You're _dating _her? We didn't even break up and you're _dating_ her?" she yelled.

"Er…"

"You lose, Treasure. The best witch won, I guess." Violet grabbed Sirius's hand and pulled him forcefully over to her, pressing a wet open-mouth kiss to his face, in the general area of his mouth.

Treasure saw red.

"YOU'RE AN UNBE_LIEV_ABLE BASTARD, SIRIUS BLACK!" she hollered, pointing her wand at him and mustering up the worst jinx she could think of.

Sirius howled painfully as his nose was transformed into a blue tentacle and purple blisters sprouted all over his face and neck. Violet screamed and started to cry, heavy black eyeliner streaming down her pale, made-up face.

Treasure ran back to the compartment she was sharing with Lily to find Laurel and Remus already there, offering her sympathetic looks and Chocolate Frogs. Treasure slammed the door closed so hard that the glass shattered completely.

"I _hate_ him."


	7. Tarantallegra!

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

A/N: Okay, so it's been over a year. And I read HP 7 in a day, and decided that it cannot POSSIBLY be over. So, I'm continuing. I'm starting college in August and inspiration comes and goes but hopefully it'll stay for a while.

That said, this chapter is rather short - but I've got to get into the swing of things again, haven't I? Enjoy!

* * *

It looked as though Treasure and Sirius would never reconcile. The conditions of their parting were so unpleasant that nothing good could come of it, and the egos of both parties involved were such that there could be no peace until the score was finally settled. Each thought that the other had been more greatly wronged, and so the only thing for Lily, Laurel and the remaining Marauders to do was watch, wearily, while a war was waged. 

Treasure knew that it was unlikely she would survive the Sorting unscathed. The only reason she had a relatively peaceful time on the Hogwarts Express was because it took Violet nearly three hours just to convert the bright blue tentacle Treasure had jinxed him with back into some semblance of a normal human nose. His nose, though of a normal size and shape, refused to adopt its natural hue and instead remained a striking cyan. The purple blisters throbbed painfully as they were Vanished, a job that Sirius entrusted to James once Violet came dangerously close to Vanishing an ear rather than the boil located precariously close to it. Violet simpered annoyingly and clutched Sirius's hand as he roared with pain with each Vanished blister.

Treasure remained, if not happily, then triumphantly in her compartment with Laurel and Remus. The werewolf looked supremely uncomfortable, but one burning glare from Laurel told him that he was not to return to the Marauders' compartment if he expected _her_ company after the feast. Laurel sat with her wand lightly balanced in one delicate hand but Treasure knew from her posture that she was ready to jump up and throw jinxes around if the moment arose.

The train slowed to a stop as they reached their destination, and despite her feelings of anger and dejection, Treasure's spirits lifted as the castle came into view. The grumble in her stomach told her that it was nearly time for the feast, and she eagerly anticipated Hogwarts food followed by her comfortable bed at the top of the Gryffindor tower. With a jolt she realized that she'd have all year to deal with Violet, and, feeling miserable once more, she made her way with Remus and Lupin to the horseless carriages. Distracted, she didn't hear the curse the Sirius aimed her way in time to counter it.

"_Tarantallegra_!" Sirius shouted, his face flush with anger. Treasure felt the curse hit her and moments later she wobbled about on dancing legs, away from the carriage door and smack into something invisible - but very solid - where a horse would have been harnessed. The whatever-it-was gave a start and started prancing, trying to keep out of Treasure's path. Laurel sprung out of the carriage and hurled an angry hex back at Sirius, and Remus lifted the curse from Treasure who, off balance, fell beneath sharp hooves. She shouted as she felt herself trampled and saw a quick flash of red hair as Lily ran by to comfort the invisible horse into stillness. 

Angry voices inquired as to the hold up, and Lily pulled her friend up and helped her into the carriage in order to keep the line moving. Treasure sat, shaking, in the dark compartment with bruises on her face and arms, and a split lip bleeding heavily.

"What _was_ that thing?" she asked, holding her muddied sleeve up to her lip. Lily gently pulled her friend's wrist away and tapped Treasure's lip until the skin sealed itself.

"Thanks," the dark-haired witch said gratefully. "Well?"

"It was a thestral," Remus said quietly.

"A what?"

"A thestral. Horse-like, but without hair or skin, really. It's blind, it's eyes are white. Great big lizard-like wings, and sharp little teeth good for eating raw meat," Laurel said sagely.

"Thank you, Professor Grubbly-Plank," Treasure said moodily, sticking her tongue out to test Lily's handiwork.

"So you all can see it, but me?"

"The only people who can see them are people who have witnessed death," Lily said calmly. Treasure started and stared at her best friend. "My grandfather," the red head explained. Treasured nodded, and then stared at Remus and Laurel.

"Werewolf," Remus muttered.

"Veela blood," Laurel said cheerfully, intertwining her fingers with Remus's. "We don't have to see dead people to see thestrals. Technically, we're _creatures_!" Remus didn't look as pleased as Laurel at this special condition. Treasure wisely said nothing and instead gingerly touched her eye, which felt as if it had been clobbered with a Bludger.

"You look beautiful, darling," Laurel teased.

"I'll bet," Treasure groused. "Sirius Black doesn't know what's coming to him!"

Remus groaned. "Don't you think it would be better if you just called it a draw? You did the same thing last year! You got him, and he got you - aren't you even now?" Lily and Laurel snorted.

"_I'm_ not the one walking around with a little tramp girlfriend, am I? The nerve of him! Of all the girls in Hogwarts he could have chosen, he had to pick Violet! Violet! Did it ever occur to him that we have to sleep in the same _dormitory_? That I'm going have to be around that rat-faced little wretch _everyday_? That I'm never going to have a moment's peace and I'll never hear the end of it from her?" Treasure said wildly as they made their way into the Great Hall.

"Sorry to say it, Tres, but that's probably why he chose her," Lily said quietly, steering Treasure to the opposite end of the table from where Sirius and Violet sat as if glued together. Treasure felt mutinous tears spring to her eyes and battled them back fiercely as the Sorting Hat sang its song.

"That's low, even for him," she snapped. Lily sighed her agreement and loaded double helpings of everything chocolate onto Treasure's plate.


End file.
